


On Broken Wings We Fly

by 221bBagEnd



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Babies, Draco has a heart, Eventually because babies take time okay, F/M, Fluff and Smut, Hermione is a little broken, I also have no idea what I'm doing, I have no shame, Loving Lucius is a truly magnificent thing, Lucius Malfoy has a heart, Marriage Law Fic, Naked bodies will touch, Post War, Ron Bashing, Wizarding World Modern AU, angsty angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-26
Updated: 2016-12-05
Packaged: 2018-07-10 08:25:23
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,037
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6975394
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/221bBagEnd/pseuds/221bBagEnd
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Life for the Golden Trio was not easy after the war but for Hermione it was torture. Isolated and alone she must now face the terrifying prospect of marrying a man that she hates and who hates her in return. Her choice is simple marriage or Azkaban. </p><p>Draco Malfoy never thought that his life was going to be easy after the war, but Merlin's beard did it have to be this hard?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Map of My Misery

**Author's Note:**

  * For [BlackArrow94](https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlackArrow94/gifts).



> This work is for one of my beautiful best friends who apparently needs more dramione in her life because she refuses to drarry even if she has run out of fics to read. 
> 
> Anyways, if you love angst and fluff then this is the fic for you, however, if you are in any way attached to a certain ginger in the golden trio you may want to back away now. All love and respect to the characters and I apologise in advance for my abuse of them, I promise everything will work out in the end.

The devil asked me how I knew my way around the halls of hell.

I told him I did not need a map for the darkness I know so well.

\- Author Unknown

 

Hermione stared at the stacks of paperwork littering her desk, it seemed these days that no matter how much she worked or how many times she cleared the numerous stacks of paper they reappeared just as fast. These days though that was to be expected, most of the laws that had governed the Wizarding world for centuries were being reviewed even in a department such as the Protection and Care of Magical Creatures where she worked. She could have had any job that she wanted after the war, being a member of the Golden Trio and recipient of the Order of Merlin First Class pretty much ensured that, but there was no other place that she would have rather worked. Here she was invisible, just another glorified paper pusher amongst many.

Harry and Ron had jumped at the chance to become Aurors for the Ministry of Magic, especially seeing as they got to skip their final year and go straight into training. Hermione, however, had not been at all attracted to the bright lure of fame and the easy path that it offered. Instead she had gone back to school and completed her final year in exactly the way that she had always hoped. What else was there for her to do? She had lost so much fighting beside Harry, and not that she regretted her choice nor even resented Harry, but the truth was that she had lost almost everything. In her attempts to shield her parents from the magical dangers that she faced she had erased any memory of herself from their minds not considering for a moment that there would never be a way for her to return them. She had forfeited her home, her parents and any life she had before she had become a witch. 

 _I don't know why you bother even thinking about these things, you know you can't change a damn thing._ Hermione sighed glancing down at the watch that was far to big for her slender wrists, it was far past when she should have left for the day. She had hoped to get through just a few more files before tomorrow if only for the knowledge that it wouldn't be another thing that she would have to face in the morning. Who was she kidding though? There was no way that she would get through the lean-to stacks of newly proposed laws in need of either being drafted or edited. In most cases the files were not hers but her workmates, much as her school friends, they had discovered that not only did she work fast but that she completed things with an unsettling level of perfection. That was at least one thing that she could do right, the list of things she hadn't managed to screw up these days was pretty damn short. 

With one last look at her cluttered desk Hermione reached underneath the worn and scrapped wooden tabletop to retrieve her handbag. She couldn't put it off any longer there weren't any more excuses for her to stay, not reasonable ones anyway. Hermione stood and straightened her blouse and pencil skirt reaching for the blazer haphazardly thrown over the back of her chair slowly making her way towards the door of her office. She hated this time of day, as much as she may not have enjoyed her job seemingly endless paperwork and lazy co-workers it was far better than the alternative that awaited her. Home. 

After completing her final she had finally had to face the terrifying realisation that for the first time in her life she had no where to go, the last place that she had to call home she had now graduated from. She knew that she could always go and stay with the Weasley's but the thought of having to share such tight quarters did not appeal to her in the least, not to mention the fact that Ron was there which would make things beyond awkward. Neither he nor his mother seemed to understand the concept of a breakup, really it wasn't all that hard to grasp. Thankfully Harry had come to her rescue, while Hermione had been in school Harry had moved into Grimmauld Place not wanting the house the remain dank and empty forever. He had been happily living there until Ginny had hinted at wanting to leave the burrow. The only problem being of course that Ginny outright refused to move into Grimmauld Place, despite the extensive remodelling that Harry had done. No Ginny wanted a house of their own somewhere where she wouldn't be haunted by the memories of the war and previous occupants of the house who had lived less than happy lives there. Thanks to Ginny's fussiness and Harry's inability to say 'no' Hermione was offered the residence. After all the work that Harry had put into making the house liveable and far less dark and depressing than it had been under its previous owners he was reluctant to simply let it sit and collect dust.

Hermione had jumped at the chance to have a home of her own, not that she was the type of person usually given to accepting charity but in this instance the alternative was almost unthinkable. It had been wonderful at first all those wondrous rooms not to mention the library, and Harry had really done a wonderful job at clearing the house up. Gone were the forbidding dank rooms, thick curtains and dust riddles surface. Now the house was clean and light, dare she even say cheery looking, Harry had really breathed new life into it. There were no ghosts there and yet Hermione still felt haunted. The truth was that she was utterly alone, save for Kreacher who had made a point of at least trying to be civil to his new mistress despite her less than pure blood status. He would never let her know it but he had no complaints about his new master, he even grudgingly respected her. Call it what you will but Kreacher was fiercely loyal to the witch, not that he would ever tell her of course. 

Things with Ron had disintegrated quickly after the war, Hermione had with drawn from both the man and the relationship that she had with him. She had needed time to grieve, to process the horrific events that she had somehow lived through when so many had not. Ron on the other hand threw himself happily into the limelight, he wasn't shy of the recognition nor the fame that followed. He had spent so long in the shadow of his brothers that the idea of being the famous one in the family was irresistable to him. Things between herself and Ron were strained to say the least, he couldn't understand why she didn't want to be with her when almost every other woman did and Hermione just wanted time to figure out what she wanted. As terrible as it was to say it was far easier to love Ron when her everyday could have been her last. There had been no looking to the future, what was the point in making plans when she was sure that she was going to die? She couldn't have even fathomed a future for herself, still couldn't, let alone a future for their relationship.

Harry had used his fame only so far as securing a job in the ministry and the convenience of not having to complete his final year. He and Hermione were on good terms but the closeness that they had enjoyed during their years at school was a thing of the past. Harry had a career and Ginny to think of now and that left little time for anything else much as he might have wanted to see his best friend. Without Harry and Ron in her life her existence was a lonely one indeed, it was hard to make friends when people were either intimidated by your fame and past or were simply unable to understand what she had gone through. If she thought making friends was hard it was almost down right laughable when compared to how hard it was to date. How could she explain to someone, even a fellow wizard, why she slept with her wand underneath or pillow. Or how most nights she woke up screaming covered in sweat and tangled in her own sheets. Who would understand that sometimes she was so paralysed by fear that she couldn't breathe or think beyond it? Who would want a relationship with a woman who jumped at the smallest sound on a good day or ended up huddled in a corner sucking in gasping breaths of air in between sobs that shook her entire frame. Life for Hermione Granger had become a sad thing indeed. 

Hermione groaned as she exited the floo, as efficient a form as the travel may be it certainly wasn't her favourite. It always left her covered in soot and slightly nauseous.  _Well at least it wasn't a broom._ She shuddered at the thought of having to fly.  _If we were meant to fly I would have been born with wings._ Toeing off her heels and dropping her bag she made her way towards the stairs on sore stockinged feet. All she wanted was to strip off her restrictive work clothes hop in a hot bath and crawl into bed. It was late as it was and she needed to be up early and back at the office. 

"Mistress, would you like Kreacher to make you something for dinner?" Kreacher appeared at the top of the stairs frightening Hermione as usual. She and Kreacher had come to an uneasy alliance of sorts but she would put it past the little beast to try something like frightening her to death.

"No Kreacher, thank you. I just want to sleep, as should you be. Its late and you know I don't expect you to wait up for me, or cook for that matter. I'm a grown woman." Hermione sighed, no matter how many times she told Kreacher that she was capable of taking care of herself he always seemed to argue to opposite.

"Very well mistress. You have an owl, Kreacher put it on your desk in your room. Preacher will go now if that will be all?" Kreacher grimaced at Hermione, he did so hate it when she refused his help.

"Yes thank you Kreacher, that will indeed be all. Goodnight." Try as she might to be kind the house elf always managed to get under her skin. Kreacher finally taking the hint popped off to whatever part of the house that he called home. Hermione had offered him his pick of the bedrooms but to her knowledge, and she had checked several times, he hadn't claimed any room as his own.

 _I just want to sleep. I want to sleep and not dream....or alternately not wake up,_ _that would be nice._  Hermione made her way into her bedroom throwing off her clothes as she went, all thoughts of a bath fled at the sight of her bed. Walking over to her desk she grabbed the pyjamas that she had thrown over the desk chair. Shrugging into them she stopped short at the sight of the letter, this was not a usual letter, not that she received much of those anyway, this one had the official seal of the Ministry of Magic on it. Sighing once more, as was her usual response these days, she grabbed the letter from her desk and returned to her bed. If she was going to have to deal with boring Ministry business she may as well do so from the comfort of her own bed. 

Cracking the wax seal she prepared herself for the usual boring nonsense that she received. But this time this was not at all the case.

**_Dear Ms Granger_ **

**_We are hereby informing you that in accordance with the newly enacted marriage act you are required to marry a wizard as per the decision made for you. Given that you are not married, currently in a long term relationship nor are you a classified as a 'Magical Creature' you are not exempt from this law._ **

**_You have thirty days from the date of this letter to report to the Ministry of Magic and register your marriage and performing the binding ritual to one Mr Draco Malfoy. Upon the successful binding and recognition of your marriage it is expected that within two years of the union you will produce a child with your husband._ **

**_Non-compliance with this law will result in your imprisonment in Azkaban. You should also be informed that should you fail to fulfil the requirements of this marriage law in regards to the birth of a child you will also be placed in Azkaban. If you are unable to bear a child you must submit yourself for a medical assessment at St. Mungo's and upon_ ** **_confirmation of this you will be released from the marriage requirement._ **

**_We thank you for your compliance in this matter and congratulate you on your upcoming nuptials. We wish you a happy and fruitful marriage._ **

**_Regards,_ **

**_The Department of Births, Deaths and Marriages._ **

****Hermione's hands shook as she held the letter. _How could they do this to me? Have I not sacrificed enough already? I gave them my youth and now they want to take my future from me too!_ Hermione was torn between being enraged or scared. She knew that she wasn't infertile and short of going out and becoming a chew toy for a werewolf she wasn't exempt from the new marriage act. But the thought of having to marry Draco Malfoy was more unpalatable than spending each full moon having every bone in her body broken torn apart and then rearranged as she transformed into a predatory mindless wolf. 

She couldn't breathe, she couldn't move.  _I can't do this, I can't do this, I can't do this..._ She wasn't aware of the tears that silently fell, carving lines down her face. How was she supposed to marry a man that saw her as less than a dog because of her bloodline. She couldn't help being born a mudblood anymore than he could help having been born into a pure blood family. She had loathed him all during her schooling years, had feared and resented him in the end for what he had done and now she was not only to become his wife and share his name but she would have to have a child to him. The Ministry wanted her to bind herself forever to a man that hated her or expected her to just calmly accept her fate lying down and go to prison.

 _I can't do this, I can't do this, I can't do this..._ She curled into her bed great sobs wrenching themselves from her chest as she slowly slipped into a restless sleep and the sobs finally quieted. She was unaware of the small figure outside her door peering through the crack that had been left ajar, she wan't even aware as he quietly slipped into her room and pulled the blankets over her, pushing some of her unruly curls out of her face.

"It's alright Mistress, Kreacher will protect you." Kreacher growled quietly, she was the first master of the house who treated him with kindness and respect not expecting him to change. She understood his pain and he understood hers. He would not abandon her, this was her home and she would always be safe here. Hermione whimpered in her sleep, there would be no rest for her tonight.


	2. In Misery We Are But Mirrors of Each Other

"I don't know how my body stays together when my soul is completely broken."

 - Sandra (Heavensbook Angels)

 

Draco glanced down at the letter that lay on the rich mahogany of his desk, no matter how many times he had read the damn thing the content hadn't changed. Not once. He was to be married to Hermione Granger of all people, the one person in the world who hated him more than he hated himself. He hated who he had been forced to become during the war, and all for the sake of what his father claimed was 'honour'. Honour was not betraying your friends, honour was not agreeing to kill the one mentor who had always seen good in Draco, honour was not allowing his mother and himself to be treated with the cruelty that Lucius had wielded like a weapon during his youth and then using it to excuse the cruelty he lashed out at others with. 

The truth was underneath the sneer that turned up his lips, and cold blue eyes that he had inherited from the Malfoy bloodline there was a kind loving boy there, but he had been crushed under the weight of his father and then the war and now it seemed even his very heritage was to be yet another rock piled on top of the already crushed man. His father was in Azkaban, and rightly so for all that he had done both during and before the war, but now if he didn't follow the edict given by the Ministry he would soon be all too close to the man once more. _How can I inflict myself on Hermione? She's a war hero and I am nothing more than something to be spat on in passing._

Gritting his teeth Draco realised that there would be no avoiding this, he may as well face the woman herself and hope beyond all hope that she would be understanding. He wouldn't hurt her, he wasn't his father and he did not want a marriage such as his parents had had. He had always hoped, in the deep dark part of himself that he revealed to few including himself, that he would have a happy and loving marriage. His every day was already an exercise in pain and he didn't want to inflict that on Hermione, he knew better than anyone the toll the war had taken on her.

She too had been stripped of everything. Even when he too had returned to finish his final year at Hogwarts he had seen the hollow shell of a woman that she had become. Her hand had never shot into the air with excitement the way that he always had seen her do, more than eager to answer any and all questions in her constant quest for knowledge. She had rarely spoken to her fellow students preferring to hide away in the Prefect's dormitory, even seeing her at meals in the Great Hall was a rarity, even more, rare was it to see her actually eat what was on her plate rather than artfully push it around to give the impression that she was eating. If there was something that they had both learned during the war the most important thing was keeping up appearances and Hermione would not let anyone see her weak. Weakness or vulnerability of any kind was what got you killed.

He had sat at the same table as the Dark Lord so why was the thought of writing a letter to Hermione infinitely more terrifying? _Merlin's beard Draco, pull yourself together and just get the damn thing written._

***

Kreacher looked at the owl with contempt, he once would have welcomed the sight of the bird before him. A proper owl befitting a wizard of proper status and heritage but now he knew what it meant. This letter would bring his mistress more pain. He had kept watch over her during the night, an act that had even surprised himself, but he wanted to ensure that nothing could hurt her. He would by no means claim that he loved his mistress but he deeply respected her and always felt an uncomfortable warm sensation swell through him when she said or did something nice for him. It was not proper to treat a house elf like an equal, but Hermione had never been one to follow the rules despite what she might proclaim. Kreacher huffed to himself and threw the bird the requisite treat that it would be expecting, imagining all the while that it might choke and never make it back to his master. Once relieved of the letter the owl refused to move, obviously, his master was waiting for an answer then. Well, the damned bird would just have to wait, his mistress would write back to him at her own leisure and not be pressured by his feathery presence.

Hermione rolled over in bed her eyes reluctant to open. She knew that last night had not been a dream and yet she still wished it were. What on earth was she supposed to do? At least today would offer her some reprieve, it was the weekend which meant no monkey suit or bumbling fools piling paperwork in her office. For just a moment her world was peaceful until the soft knock at the door.

"Mistress, there is another letter here for you. I also took the liberty of preparing your breakfast." Kreacher intoned softly. Hermione groaned and wished that she could just hide under the covers like she had when she was a little girl, problems couldn't find you if you were warmly swaddled in a soft nest of blankets and pillows. Unfortunately, the adult world did not make the same allowances.

"Come in Kreacher." Hermione sat up bracing herself for the worst, but what followed was Kreacher walking into the room warily as if approaching a startled beast a letter of rich paper clutched in his hand and a breakfast tray following behind him with all of Hermione's favourites in the hopes that he could coax his mistress into eating. The tray was placed benignly on her bedside table which always lay empty apart from the stray book that she would sometimes bring back with her from the library. The letter was placed far less benignly in her lap. Pull yourself together Granger, you're made of sterner stuff than this. Once more she opened the letter, this time with the Malfoy seal instead of the Ministry's. She wasn't sure which was more intimidating.

**Dear Miss Granger,**

**I take it that you have received the same edict from the Ministry as I have. Given that there is little that we can do lest we wish to be imprisoned, where I would point out we would still be together, I would advise that on this matter we acquiesce to the demands of the ministry.**

**I place no blame on you for this and can only apologise for what I must assume a terrible shock this match must have been to you. I will be ready to report to Births, Deaths and Marriages at your convenience to register our marriage and perform the bonding ceremony if that is what you wish. I place the choice entirely in your hands, I owe you that at least.**

**I would also like to assure you that I place no expectation upon our union and do not expect that you move to Malfoy manor. Under** law **, we must share a residence but if I might make a suggestion I would happily stay with you in Grimmauld place if that is your wish. I will try not be as little an imposition on you as I can, I can only imagine the shame that you must feel a War hero forced to marry a man whose family was so tied to the Dark Lord.**

**Please let me know what you wish, and whether you would like for this union to take place. I will make all the necessary arrangments as I know that your department is overrun at the moment with all of the new law changes. My owl will wait at your convenience for a response.**

**Faithfully,**

**Draco Malfoy**

_Well bloody buggering fuck, it looks like I am getting married. Hermione Malfoy, I'm sure that'll go down just swell._

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what you think!


End file.
